Forgiveness
by stormchaser34neo
Summary: Sasuke has come back to Konoha having avenged his clan. Now he seeks forgiveness from a jounin sensei who meant so much to him


Forgiveness

It has been for years since I've seen this place. Four years sine I made the choice to leave Konoha. I missed it, the warmth and the caring. But I did what I said I was going to do. I killed my brother and avenged my clan, and now I seek forgiveness and acceptance in the village where I was born. I hope that the knowledge that I killed Orochimaru will aid me in this venture. I need all the help I can get. But before I approach the Hokage there is someone I must speak to, someone from whom I truly need forgiveness. The man I betrayed, the shinobi I respect, and the sensei I have missed. I must speak with Kakashi-sensei.

I must also stop at the Memorial stone, to pay homage to my family whose names lie carved there. They would be proud of my actions, I think. I swore to avenge them, and I finally have. But I cannot, for someone else is there. Several someone else's. I recognize the chakra, though it has been years since I felt it. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Umino Iruka. An odd group, one I dare not approach. They have reasons to hate me, and I can not approach them yet. Though I will be forced to, soon enough.

Good they are leaving. I can see them through the thick foliage. Sakura is…crying/ yes, weeping into Naruto's shoulder, who is also crying. Iruka-sensei seems immeasurably sad, but he holds hi tears for the other's sake. He was always like that. They have left flowers, white lilies like the ones the left at the hokage's coffin. Who has left, to grieve them so A friend, or past member of the Rookie 9? I am curious, but still wary; not until they have truly vanished will I move. But I can no longer hear them, so the time to approach the memorial is now.

There are the Uchihas, 53 in all. I bow to them, those names meaning so much to me/ They were my life once, and all I have now. With that complete, I seek the name that caused them such unhappiness. It isn't easy. Many names have been added since I left. Sarutobi Asuma, which surprises me. His name is below his father's, and I wish him happiness where ever he has gone. More names of people I never met or do not remember fill the other spaces. What caused them such sorrow?

Then I see it. It is the second to last name, between Karami Samamoto and Gorjo Altironi. Inlaid in silver to signify a hero of the village is a name that chills what little soul I have left: Hatake Kakashi. I am too late. Too late to ask for forgiveness, but not for answers. I bow to him, my sense and my frie…no. I can not call him that. I betrayed his trust without reason and apology. I cannot call me his friend. I really can't call me his student, but that is an honor I will not relinquish. But I must speak with the Hokage now.

My sudden appearance surprises, even startles, her. Lady Tsunade, the most powerful shinobi on Konoha. I have reason to fear her, especially as he moves to attack. My bow stops her. It is one of humbleness and shame. I perfected it, perfecting what I must say.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama. I have erred." My voice is tired. _I_ am tired. And grieving and hungry and so weary of not having a home. I want to come home.

"I'll say. You have some nerve, Uchiha Sasuke." I wince. It's my name, sure enough, but the way she said made it sound…foreign. It hurts, and I want nothing more to weep like the child I was when I left. I will not be accepted here. I know that. But I must have the answers.

"When did Kakashi-sensei…" I cannot go on. It hurts, and I am forced to brush away the first real tears that have come to my eyes in a long time. I thought I had discarded my emotions. Leave it to the copy-nin to bring them out again. Tsunade must have seen this in my eyes, for her own eyes softened.

"Two days ago we had his funeral." Then anticipating my next question, "He…was killed defending me. He threw himself in front of a ...a jutsu meant for me. A missing-nin henged as an academy student."

"Thank you. I will leave now."

"Not so fast boy. You came back to Konoha. I'm not too keen on letting you leave again. After all, you did kill Orochimaru."

"But the village laws state…"

"I can overrule the law. You asked for forgiveness. While I don't believe you deserve it, Kakashi would have wanted it. He always thought of you as his student, even after you betrayed him. He blamed himself, I think, for not teaching you wel enough."

"What do you mean?"

He'd thought he'd missed something. Thought that he didn't teach you what you needed to know, that he failed as a jounin sensei. He threw himself into missions, to the point where the only time he was in the village was to sleep, eat, be dragged to the hospital, or get a new mission. It was miracle he was here when that man attacked."

I couldn't look at her. I'd killed my sensei, same as I'd killed my brother. He'd taught me, protected me, respected me, and saved me. And I killed him. The tears came then, hot and unstoppable. It barely registered that the Hokage left, of that running footsteps and wild chakra signified the arrival of Naruto and Sakura. Even the touch of Sakura's hand as she hesitantly pulled me to cry against her was scarcely noticed. I had come for forgiveness from a man whose life I ended by my own action. A teacher who lived by his own decisions and took the blame for everyone else's. I had killed him, And I could never ask for forgiveness.

A/n: I wrote this for my friend, who kept badgering me for something angsty between Kakashi and Sasuke. Well, there you go.


End file.
